Unheralded

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Holiday Goodies

Baking for the holidays has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. Both my Grandma Menard and my Mom were excellent bakers, as was my Aunt Harriet Hendrickson. I helped my Mom a couple of times during the holidays, but it was a humbling experience. Mom was so good and I was such a …


Unheralded

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Legal Proceedings Signal End To Little Missouri Crossing

Billings County Commissioners, in a 2-1 vote at a special meeting Wednesday, agreed to stop all legal action concerning the proposed Little Missouri River Crossing for 60 days, or until a settlement can be reached to put an end to the condemnation of the Short Ranch property for construction of a road and bridge. The language of the motion was …


JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — The End May Be Near For The ‘Bridge To Nowhere’

You’ve heard me say this before: Elections have consequences. Even in tiny remote places like Billings County in the North Dakota Bad Lands, where a total of just 628 people voted in the races for the Billings County Commission this past month. In Billings County, commissioners are elected to represent geographic districts. The county is divided into three of them. …

JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Hello, Hawaii!

It took 70 years, but photographer Jeff Olson and his wife, Joanne Plager Burke Olson, made it to Hawaii. They visited the Big Island and Kauai, the garden sland. From a rainbow over Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to remote beaches and Waimea Canyon, everything was stunning. And they also made it to the westernmost bookstore in the U.S. and the …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — University of North Dakota Vs. Bemidji State University

The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team and Bemidji State University skated to a 3-3 tied on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The No. 14-ranked Fighting Hawk (7-7-1) received goals from Owen McLaughlin, Carter Wilkie and Jake Schmaltz. The Beavers (7-6-2), who won Friday night’s game in Bemidji 2-1, had goals from Adam Flammang, Reilly Funk and Noah …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — A New National Monument In North Dakota!

A group of dedicated North Dakotans has put together a proposal that will bring significant recognition to the North Dakota Bad Lands. They are my heroes. The project is the creation of a new national monument, the Maah Daah Hey National Monument. If the project succeeds, it will be an immense source of pride for all North Dakotans. A little …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Cruelity Is Never Of Christ

If you want to understand the difference between Christian nationalism and being a Christ follower look no further than the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. This man who spouts off about “Christian values” spent Wednesday trying to silence a damning ethics report of  a man whose vile publicly admitted actions make him unqualified to be attorney general, in order …

TONY J BENDER: That’s Life — Postelection

I realize we’re in our post-election honeymoon period during which everyone has amnesia or hangovers, and platitudes are the order of the day, but in consideration of journalistic integrity — if we’re still doing that — honesty is in order. We can’t “sane-tize” this. This has been the weirdest damn thing. And it may get even weirder. I went to …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Bad Lands Justice? Maybe

The five most dangerous words in the English language for a journalist (of which I am one, of a sort — I keep this online journal) are “I’m not a lawyer, but …” OK, so there’s been this legal case going on for about 10 years involving Billings County and the Short family over whether there is going to be …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Lost Another Good Friend

You probably didn’t know Vern Frederick. He was a quiet, humble rancher/farmer from down near Flasher, N.D.,  (one of the best town names ever), a big, strong, hard-working  man, dedicated to his loving wife, Bonnie, a polio victim tied to a wheelchair most of her adult life, whose farming operation was always on the cutting edge of the latest techniques …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — There Will Always Be Joy

I recently started following an Instagram site called “Letters of Note.” The site creator shares historical letters that are both amusing and inspiring as well as grounding. Recently, he posted a portion of a letter from John Ruskin, an English author and critic, written on Nov. 4, 1860, during a period of social reform and upheaval in England. In his letter …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — What The Hell Do We Do Now?

Relax. Take a deep breath. Things are going to be OK. Not easy but OK. Just imagine what might be going on in our country today if Kamala Harris had been elected president in a very close election, let’s say a handful of electoral votes, with very close races in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada or Georgia. Blood in the streets. And …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — What The Hell Just Happened?

That headline is a reprisal of the one I wrote in this space eight years ago, when Doug Burgum dashed the hopes of Wayne Stenehjem ever becoming governor of North Daktoa, by beating him the June 2016 primary. As I wrote then, I didn’t see that one coming. OK, so much for my Predictability Quotient. Well, actually, it’s not too bad. …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — It’s Election Day! It’s Over! Celebrate! Have A Beer!

Here’s a slightly updated rerun of a column I first posted 10 years ago, on Nov. 4, 2014. It came to mind because of a question I got this week from my friend, Colleen Stebbins down in Bowman, North Dakota, about the bars being closed in North Dakota on Election Day. Some of you remember those days, more than 30 …

LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Voting For President My First Time: 44 Years Ago Today

On this date 44 years ago, I cast my first vote for president of the United States. I had eagerly awaited this date, having listened to discussions about civic duties within my own family and extended families, having read newspapers and Life magazines and more while growing up — I was an “early reader” — having listened to my elders …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Faiths United To Save Democracy

We are volunteers with an organization called Faiths United to Save Democracy, which is doing its work in conjunction with Sojourners.  It is a nonpartisan effort to serve shifts outside of polling sites to offer support and protection to voters, making sure every vote is counted. We are trained, nonpartisan, multifaith, multicultural, multigenerational volunteers — clergy and lay — who …

ED MAIXNER: Political Fundraising Texts: You Can Run But You Can’t Hide!

Many of our cell phones have been battered this election season with a torrent of pleas for moolah. I vote mostly Democratic/Independent, so my flogging by fundraisers comes from Democratic candidates and liberal-leaning causes. For 17 days (Oct. 14-30), I logged the source of 83 of such texts on my Verizon cell phone account and observed a often overly aggressive system …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — A Little Election Weekend Reading

There’s a list at the North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office, and if you live in North Dakota, you’re on it. You and about half a million of your neighbors. It’s a big list. Probably the biggest list in the state. How do I know you’re on it? Because every North Dakotan who regularly reads these dispatches surely votes in …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — A Vote For Trump Is A Vote Against Basic Human Rights

If you have any question about what the future of  America will be like in a second Donald Trump term, please look carefully at what transpired Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. The racism, the xenophobia, the misogyny, the hatred, the anger, the division. This is where the road leads. Up until eight years ago, I would have described myself …

LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Red Oak House Autumn Notes And A Zany Codiwample To Eastern North Dakota 2024

After about sixty years of being curious about “Buffalo Alice North Dakota” (thanks L. Ray Wheeler), we wandered into Buffalo, North Dakota and then onto Old Highway Ten. Home with a load of new books to read and autumn chores to complete before snowfall. For further reading see Towns Named Buffalo.

ED MAIXNER: Best Thing For Kamala’s Campaign: A Big Slice Of Joe Biden

Vice President Kamala Harris has continued her sorely conflicted relationship with President Joe Biden since her campaign began. Like an estranged couple, she and Biden hang out in the same house politically but don’t often mention each other and don’t go out together. Harris’ campaign would benefit from an appropriate Joe-Biden-friendly approach, made clear to me with “there is not a thing …

JIM THIELMAN: Hey, Big Spenders: Glad You’re In The World Series

Something thwapped my noggin’ at a young age and told me that rooting for the New York Yankees was not the type of mistake a young feller should make. I didn’t know the half of it. In those summers, a hopscotch court was chalked on a sidewalk somewhere in the neighborhood, no one wore a helmet to ride a bike, …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Fascism Matters

If you remain undecided about who you are voting for in this election, please consider that Adolf Hitler became chancellor because of a democratic election.  The Nazi Party used hatred toward the “other” and demonization of those who were “poisoning the blood of our country” to scapegoat the marginalized and convince good people to vote for them because they believed …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Election Chaos

This article first appeared in the October issue of High Plains Reader and on its website.) As a political columnist, I know I should be writing an election preview for the issue of this paper that comes out just a couple of weeks before what is being labeled, once again, as “the most important election of our lifetime.” OK, so …

LILLIAN CROOK: WildDakotaWoman — Lillian’s Variations On Marinara

I use either Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s recipe as a start but sometimes use my Marcella Hazan’s “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking” recipes from my hardcover copy purchased in 1999. The SECRET is good ingredients, fresh whenever possible, and patience. One must taste a little as one goes along. My SECRET ingredient is cloves (in an amount depending upon one using the patience …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — University of North Dakota Vs. Providence College

The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team opened its 2024-25 season with a 5-2 win over Providence College on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena in the annual U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game. Dylan  James led the No. 6-ranked Fighting Hawks (1-0) with two goals, while Cameron  Berg, Sacha Boisvert and Abram Wiebe added single tallies against the …

EDWARD MAIXNER: Please Don’t Call My Namesake a Loser

Many Americans complain about things Donald Trump has said or done as he pushes for a return to the White House. My objection here to his loose mouth is, however, more personal than political. I respond to some of his ill words on behalf of both my late Dad and my own namesake, a soldier from Slope County, N.D., who …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Miracle Rain

The headlines in the papers are using the word “historic” to describe the fires burning in western North Dakota right now and over the past few days. Well, let me tell you a story about a historic fire from a few years back. Almost 50 years, in fact. It’s a story worth telling. And retelling. Some of you have heard …

MICHAEL BOGERT: Photo Gallery — White Horse Hill

Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert recently visited White Horse Hill National Game Preserve near St. Michael, N.D. White Horse Hill is a 1,674-acre  national wildlife refuge that was initially established as a national park on April 27, 1904 under the National Park Service. In 1914, it was further designated by Congress as a big game preserve. And in 1931, it was transferred …

TONY J BENDER: That’s Life — Like An Angel

They seemed to know. The swallows began an arial ballet outside my living room window the moment I opened my laptop to mourn. Ten of them, maybe 15 acrobats, engaged in a celebration, perhaps. Maybe a tribute. It transported me back to my grandmother’s last day. I was wheeling her along in the sunshine outside of the hospital when a …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — University of North Dakota Vs. Murray State University

The University of North Dakota football team, behind a 142-yard rushing performance by Isaiah Smith, defeated Murray State University 72-35 in Saturday’s Homecoming game in the Alerus Center. Smith scored two rushing touchdowns and added another on a 74-yard pass from quarterback Simon Romfo to lead the No. 8-ranked Fighting Hawks (4-1 overall, 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference) over the Racers …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Another One Of The Best Days Of My Life

“How’s your day goin’?” the young woman tending the cash register in the Linton, N.D., convenience store  asked me Sunday afternoon as I laid my ice cream bar on the counter and reached for my wallet. “I need some ice cream,” I replied, handing her some cash. “That wasn’t what I asked you,” she said, somewhat cheekily I thought. Then …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — ‘Persistence Alone Is Omnipotent’

Sometime in the distant past, when David Strauss and I were managing the campaigns of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, I received a note from David with those words. They struck home. I went looking for their source. I found the actual quote, ironically, from President Calvin Coolidge, who said this: “Nothing in this world can take the place of …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — University of North Dakota Vs. Idaho State University

The University of North Dakota football team racked up a 31-point lead in the first half en route to a 52-28 win over Idaho State University on Saturday afternoon in the Alerus Center. The No. 10 Fighting Hawks (2-1) were led by quarterback Simon Romfo, who was 25-38 and 287 and two touchdowns, and receiver Bo Belquist, who caught eight …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Tuna Egg Salad

Sometimes it’s just too hot to cook. That’s when having a good imagination can come to the rescue. Tuna salad and egg salad are two creations that I can remember Mom fixing when the thermometer pushed above 80 and close to 90, especially since we didn’t have central air conditioning. A nice sandwich of either of those always was satisfying …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — A Prelude To Fascism

I know a lot of people are laughing about the sheer insanity of the comment about eating pets — and I would be a liar if I didn’t admit to being very amused by some memes. But there is a deep and nefarious part of that racist trope that we can’t laugh off. It implies that immigrants, especially ones from Haiti …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Country Over Party and Policy

There was never a universe in which I thought that Dick Cheney and I would be actively supporting the same person for president, but here we are. As much as I disagree with him about almost every issue, I am extremely impressed with his commitment to our country over party and policy. His sense of patriotism is commendable as he …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — University of North Dakota Vs. University Of Montana

The University of North Dakota football team came back from a 24-7 halftime deficit to defeat the University of Montana 27-24 on Saturday in the Alerus Center. The No. 4-ranked Grizzlies (1-1) dominated the first half before surrendering 20 unanswered points in the second half to the No. 23-ranked Fighting Hawks (1-1), culminating with a 40-yard field goal from CJ …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — Character Matters

I’ve been thinking about my blog about Gus Walz and I need to clarify. Showing emotion is good and a sign of true strength for any human being. Mocking someone who cries says more about the one who mocks than it does about the one crying. The number of times I’ve had people apologize for crying while they were in …

JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Mount Blue Sky Recreation Area

Fort Collins, Colo., photographer Jeff Olson and his wife, Joanne Plager Burke Olson, recently made a wilderness hike to Mount Blue Sky Recreation Area, located on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains near Idaho Springs, Colo. Mount Blue Sky, elevation 14,250 feet, is the most prominent mountain overlooking the city of Denver. Along the way, they visited Mount Goliath …

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot The Rapids — A Truly Modern Family

One of the subtle things I really appreciated about the Democratic National Convention was the honest portrayal of the family of Kamala Harris. Her husband’s ex-wife produced the video about Doug Emhoff and she was there at the convention every night with her kids. She and Harris are good friends. As someone who was part of a blended family, I …